Solar energy collector

Abstract

A solar energy collector comprises a housing within which are mounted a series of manifolded hollow tubes adapted to carry a circulating heat absorbing and transporting fluid medium. A reflective surface closely associated with the tubes is characterized in cross section by a repetitive sequence of compound angles defining a series of side-by-side troughs with upwardly divergent sidewalls spanned at their base by tented bottom wall segments; and the tubes are partially nested in the troughs in such a manner that some of the solar rays impinging upon the collector strike the surface of the tubes about part of their circumference and the balance of such rays are reflected or re-reflected by the angularly disposed reflector surfaces to strike the tubes about the remainder of their circumference. The outer surface of the tubes is preferably grooved to enhance the area thereof to be directly and reflectively impinged by the solar rays and reflected solar rays and chemically tarnished to increase the heat absorptive characteristics thereof.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A solar energy collector having a heat absorbing medium, a thermally conductive chamber for housing said medium and structure for exposing said chamber to solar rays, wherein the improvement comprises means for reflecting and re-reflecting solar rays not directly striking said chamber on to the surfaces thereof not directly struck by solar rays wherein said means are in the form of a reflective surface characterized by a compound angular cross section, said reflective surface comprises at least one trough defined by upwardly divergent sidewalls spanned at their base by tented bottom wall segments, said chamber is at least one hollow tube at least partially nested within said trough and said trough is formed by at least two channels each having a compound angular upper surface comprising a pair of interior strips converging at their upper edges in a high peak and a pair of exterior marginal strips from the outer edge of each of which depends a web, said channels being held together in side-by-side abutting relationship whereby their high peaks define the trough whereof the sidewalls are the opposing interior strips and the tented bottom wall segments are the adjacent marginal strips. 
     
     
       2. A solar energy collector according to claim 1 wherein the interior cavities of said channels underlying their upper surface between their depending webs are filled with a foamed plastic material which extends beyond the limits of said webs to form a continuous integrated and integrating layer for holding said channels in their desired side-by-side association.